Ex-Indiana teacher charged with child pornography, having sex with teen

March 28, 2013|By Deanese Williams-Harris | Tribune reporter

Jon Erik Lilly, former teacher accused of having naked photos of teens on his home computer. (Indiana State Police)

A former teacher at Morton High School in Hammond is accused of having sex with at least one student and having hundreds of nude photos of teens on his home computer.

Jon Erik Lilly, 27, of Cedar Lake, Ind., was arrested Wednesday on charges of possessing visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, according to a federal complaint.

The complaint alleges Lilly coerced at least 10 under-aged teens into sending him nude photos, and that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl at his Cedar Lake home. The girl's mother contacted police after she suspected her daughter was having a relationship with him, the complaint said.

When police questioned the girl, she denied having sex with the teacher and told investigators Lilly offered to help with her assignments and listened to her problems. She called him "one of her best friends," the complaint states, and denied being asked or sending Lilly sexually explicit pictures.

Lilly told investigators the girl had a crush on him but seemed like a person in need of help, according to the complaint. "She was a cute girl but she was off limits because she was a student and is 17 years old," he said, according to the complaint.

After getting permission from the girl's mother, investigators found several inappropriate text messages and sexually explicit pictures of the girl on her phone, the court documents said. The girl then admitted sending Lilly the photos and having sex with him at his home, the complaint states.

When police confronted Lilly, he admitted the girl had sent him photos and had been to his home, but denied having sex with her. A further investigation revealed that Lilly had hundreds of naked photos of other young teens on his home computer, the complaint said.

Investigators were able to identify at least nine other teens who exchanged text messages with Lilly and provided him with photos, according to the complaint.